


I SWEAR This Isn't a Furry AU

by Phia (ShinyNymphia)



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zootopia, M/M, kenny's a fennec, kyle's a bunny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 06:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17823434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinyNymphia/pseuds/Phia
Summary: Kyle kept his promise and found Kenny McCormick's younger sister with the help of the city's infamous vigilante...but things still aren't okay and he's powerless to do much of anything about it.





	I SWEAR This Isn't a Furry AU

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write more for this AU and I've been asked to, buuut writing multi-chaptered things is hard and I don't trust myself to maintain that kind of motivation. So, I thought that I'd just write something else from the AU. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy either way!!

Kyle always did his best to keep his promises.

And several days ago now, he promised one Kenny McCormick, a 24-year-old fennec that lives with both his older and younger siblings, works at a cafe where he takes advantage of the 30% discount employees get, always smiles politely when conversing with people that he doesn’t know very well, but almost never with teeth, that he would find his little sister.

He did.

Along with all of the other fourteen mammals that went missing.

Of course, he didn’t accomplish this all on his own, though the help he received didn’t come from the ones that should have been assisting him on this case.

No, instead, he got it from Zootopia’s Mysterious Vigilante, who climbed in through his bedroom window at around 1:30 in the AM, telling him that he needs his help. As fate would have it, Mysterion is concerned with all of the animals disappearing out of thin air as well, somehow recognizing, despite there being literally no reason for the caped crusader to know of him at all, that Kyle is the only one with any real power to do anything that’s actually willing to do something about it.

Which admittedly made Kyle feel a fair bit flattered, after he got over being simultaneously frightened and annoyed over this cloaked asshole with glowy purple eyes climbing into his fifth story apartment, that is.

They worked together, eventually tracked down where all the animals were whisked away to, and rescued them all.

Kyle got all the recognition, of course, none of which he actually wanted, while Mysterion went unaccredited for any of his contributions, and with every bit of praise he receives, he has to bite his tongue to keep from saying that he wouldn’t have been able to do it without Mysterion, because he knows that being in the spotlight isn’t something that he desires, either, and it’s probably for the better, anyhow.

He’s positive that he would be in for a heap of trouble if everyone knew and that the only reason he’s avoiding punishment for working on this case in secret is because of the general public adoring now him for his actions.

 _Their_ actions.

But he supposes the important thing is that everyone is safe. That’s what he cares about the most, and he knows that’s true for Mysterion as well.

Let them all think the newly recruited rabbit cop single-handedly solve a case that the entire police force has been struggling for weeks to find even a single lead for.

It's fine.

Yet, he doesn't feel relieved.

Because even though he kept his promise, Karen McCormick isn't back with her two older brothers, safe and sound, like she should be.

Instead, she's in a hospital room with no visitors, even though there's plenty of animals that want to see her, that missed her and fretted for days and days in her absence. No one is allowed inside except for the doctors and nurses and any one else they deem a professional.

Everyone else has to stand outside, looking at her through the window into the room like she's some sort of spectacle.

She was, for awhile, complete strangers gathering so that they can bear witness, until being shooed away and told that only friends and family are allowed to visit. 'Visiting' is a strong word since no one can interact with her directly, but that hasn't stopped the ones that matter from stopping by.

Kyle's here now, too.

As soon as he was able to, he wanted to tell Kenny that he found Karen, found everyone, and he called him the second he could steal a moment alone, even though it was the middle of the goddamn night and anyone sane would be sleeping. Kenny must have been, because he didn't answer.

He called Kyle back in the morning.

And now they're here, at the hospital.

 

Kyle stands a foot or so behind Kenny, mindful of respecting his personal space, but not so far out into the hallway that he's potentially blocking the way of anyone that might be walking through the corridors.

They aren't the only ones that have stopped by to see her, of course.

Kevin, the oldest McCormick, did as well, a few hours prior, though he did eventually leave to go to work, and Karen's girlfriend, Tricia Tucker, accompanied by an older serval that he assumes is her brother who tagged along for moral support more than anything else, wordlessly comforting his little sister with an arm around her shoulder as she sobs, but he soon realizes that he's also genuinely concerned for Karen's well-being, too.

After they left, too, only Kenny and himself remained, the former taking off work just so he could spend his day at the hospital, only leaving whenever Kyle insisted that they at least get something to eat from the cafeteria downstairs, which he complied with, albeit with great reluctance.

Neither of them have said anything for awhile.

He doesn't know what to say, and there's a persistent feeling of guilt gnawing at him that he can't quite shake, even though he's quite literally done everything he could for the fennec an his family. But as he watches Kenny standing there, gazing into the room at his little sister with his large ears drooped and a heartbreaking forlorn look that doesn't belong on his face, he wishes he could do more, anything at all to make it better for him.

He lifts his gaze, looking over Kenny, through the window and into the hospital room.

Karen doesn't rest in the hospital bed.

Instead, she's in the floor on the left side of the room, pacing in small circles on all fours, the collar and leash around her neck preventing her from wandering very far away. He can spy how her lips are curled back over her sharp teeth in a snarl that he can't hear, but the muzzle they put on her keeps her from doing any harm to the few that are allowed to enter.

Right now, Karen is, for all intents and purposes, a wild animal.

Kyle can't even begin to imagine how heartbreaking it must be for Kenny to see his little sister in this state and it makes his chest ache.

Karen is back, but not really, and no one that cares about and loves her deeply can help her.

He watches Kenny lift a paw and place it on the glass separating him from the sibling that he hasn't gotten to see, speak to, embrace in days, and still can't do most of those things. The action strikes Kyle as familiar, triggers a memory from the night prior.

 

_They find the missing mammals, all fourteen of them, in the same place._

_The room is dark once they initially enter, Kyle using the flashlight on his cell so that he can properly survey their surroundings, Mysterion doing the same, albeit entirely unaided; fennecs have better vision in the dark than bunnies do, but even if they didn't, somehow, Kyle figures that he still probably wouldn't have any trouble._

_The first thing of note that they find is medical equipment, brand new, a hospital bed, a wheelchair, several monitors showing several different brain scans and a myriad of other things._

_Kyle records all of this on his phone with a perplexed frown on his furry face when his attention is drawn away by the sound of Mysterion inhaling sharply next to him._

_His head jerks in the cloaked fennec's direction, instinctively assuming danger, and he softly inquires, "What is it?" but instead of answering, his companion is suddenly sprinting further into the room, the shadows effectively swallowing him whole._

_"Mysterion?!" he utters in a stage whisper, confused and alarmed at being left behind, eyes wide, and he turns his phone light in the the direction Mysterion ran off in so that he isn't just running blindly in the dark. He stops, though, once he has a clear view of everything around them._

_Cages._

_Numerous cages lining the walls and Kyle takes tentative steps forward now, moving his phone left and right so that he can see into each one. He sees animals inside, squinting at some of them because he's hesitant to get too close, but with each cage he passes, he realizes that he recognizes all of them._

_These are the animals that have been missing for days, weeks, disappeared without a trace, and here they all are._

_"What the fuck..." Kyle utters under his breath, turning his gaze forward again, and he finally sees Mysterion standing in front of one of the cages at the far end of the room. He runs to more quickly close the remaining distance between the two of them, looking to the vigilante with a questioning gaze, but before he questions the other's unexpected actions, he looks into the cage._

_His heart stops beating for a moment._

_He steps forward, next to Mysterion, making sure his assumptions are correct by shining the light into the cage, and sure enough..._

_"Karen..."_

_It's Mysterion, not him, who says it, quietly echoing his thoughts, but as he looks to the young fennec that's been held captive here for days, there's a disconnect from the way Kenny described her to him, hell, a jarring difference from the photo of her he has saved in a document on his laptop._

_She stands near the far wall on all fours, ears back, tail lowered and lips drawn back over her teeth._

_Her eyes are narrowed, pupils slit, which he supposes he can blame on the light he shines on her, but there's something undeniably feral in the way she looks at them that makes him feel uneasy._

_"Karen?" Kyle says, voice gentle, and there's a small sense of relief whenever her ears perk, posture appearing to relax a bit, and he gives a tentative smile, "My name is Officer Kyle Broflovski - your brother Kenny asked me to find you."_

_She walks towards them both and he notices Mysterion tense beside him, but he keeps his eyes on Karen._

_"We're going to get you out of here."_

_In the next second, Karen is suddenly lunging at them with a snarl, and Kyle instinctively flinches back, despite the strong glass separating the two of them from her. His eyes are wide for a moment, frantic, his heart beating fast in his chest, his long, droopy ears very nearly standing upright in alarm._

_Mysterion doesn't move, and Karen stands on her back legs now, paws braced against the surface, clawing futilely and attempting to reach the cloaked fennec on the other side. The vigilante, meanwhile, stands there, looking oddly somber, his ears lowered._

_Kyle watches him place a paw on the glass, almost longingly._

_It occurs to him now that Mysterion must know Karen, but he doesn't know how. He never mentioned anything about Karen specifically when discussing the case and processed everything Kyle told him about her that he learned from Kenny as if it was new information to him entirely._

_Curiosity and puzzlement stir in him and he can't help asking, "Do you know her?"_

_Mysterion doesn't answer for several moments, watching Karen while she regards him with absolutely no recognition in her eyes._

_"Yes," he eventually says, voice soft and tinged with sadness, "I know her."_

_He doesn't elaborate beyond that, and Kyle doesn't inquire further._

_But he's still left wondering._

 

"You know..."

Kyle snaps back to the present whenever Kenny says something for the first time in forever, immediately gaining his attention, though a few seconds pass before he says anything else. He waits patiently for him to continue.

"I wanted to introduce you to Karen properly, after she came home," Kenny says, looking over his shoulder at Kyle and even the smile on his face is absolutely heartbreaking to see, "I think you'd get along. She's really great."

He looks forward again, and Kyle swallows, stepping towards him and settling a paw on his shoulder, giving a small squeeze.

He wishes he could do more.

"I'm sorry, Kenny."

"Don't be. You promised me that you'd find her, and you did," Kenny replies, though there's a strain in his voice as he watches Karen through the window, "We were all starting to wonder if we'd ever see her again and no one was doing anything to help, but you did."

He takes a breath, shutting his eyes.

Kyle knows he's fighting off tears. He doesn't draw attention to it.

"So, thanks."

If the situation were different, the words would have warmed him, the appreciation and gratitude on Kenny's part making all of the the spent working on this seemingly hopeless case worth it.

And it was worth it.

Because Kyle just wants to do good, wants to help people however he can, even if no one else will.

Especially if no one else will.

But as it is, there's just an ache in his chest because, despite his best efforts to fix everything, in the end, he's powerless to give Kenny his little sister back.

His heart breaks further when he hears the fennec sniffle, watches his ears lower further, and he can't stand not being able to do anything at all for him.

So he wraps his arms around him without thinking, squeezes Kenny close to him, his nose resting on top of his head between both of his large, pointed ears. Kyle hears Kenny gasp a little, probably startled by the action, but he doesn't move away.

"She'll be okay, Kenny," he whispers, then quietly adds, "I promise."

Kenny just sort of sags in his embrace, trembling as the tears start to fall, but he holds him up, supports him, because that's all he can really do.

He hopes that this promise is one he'll be able to keep, too.

But only time will tell.


End file.
